Fun and Games

Boys' Clubs   oil/canvas   30 x 30 x 1.5

 

Worship/Worry/Worshipped

Worship/Worry/Worshipped   oil/canvas   30 x 20x 1.5

This painting has arisen from the ashes of my attic.  Originally entitled "Living in the Light", it was painted over 20 years ago from 3 studio sessions with a model...her name was Wilma. At that time, my goal was to sift and sort the visual information in front of me to compose a work that, well, looked like the scene in front of me.

My process has evolved.  My life has evolved and, as a result, my beliefs have followed suit.

And I started to wonder about Wilma....and her motivations on Sunday mornings.  Perhaps all is the same for her.

Much of this work was covered over and recreated imposing my own ideas onto her. Her worry and her submissive worship have been transformed.  She is the Goddess (Goodness), the one worthy of being worshipped.  Thoughtful painting.  

Strawberry Almond

Strawberry Almond   oil/canvas   14 x 11

Come Valentine's Day, my thoughts wander to the simple sweet simplicity of Wayne Thiebaud.  I first encountered his work on some notecards.  Such surprise when I looked him up to find many other paintings...some quite large, and some not that sweet.

This year I photographed this cake through the bakery case at the local grocery.  While quite simple, everything is a lesson in portrayal, in texture, in suggestion.  The almonds were a challenge.  The thick palette knife frosting was such fun.  As I have iced many cakes in my kitchen, I used that same technique with the paint.

Simply fun.

Bestie - Jo

Jo - private collection

 

R. Love - Portrait Painting

R. Love   watercolor on Khadi   13 x 9.5

Portrait painting is an incredibly satisfying experience....or not...depending on the delicate balance of oh-so-many factors.

The quest for likeness provides, of course, the drive.  But, for me, especially for me, when likeness takes over, the work can become too finished, too slick, too plastic-y.  
Because expressive stroke-making is so important to me, I have to be willing to forego small details and to be satisfied with a broader description.  Where to stop?  That is the difficult part!

And, because I am searching for something honest rather than perfect, I feel that I must shoot my own very spontaneous reference photos.  

Another factor is the color palette.  I prefer a quite limited palette....a warm brown and an accompanying cool, along with the resultant neutrals when these two are combined.  Value tells the tale.  Rainbowy local colors are too sweet and leave me cold....they also distract from the rawness that I prefer.

In this case, I used Khadi paper.  It is very unforgiving and highly textured.  It holds water easily. Using it required me to move more slowly and carefully.

The hardest thing of all is to paint someone you love.  It can never be perfect enough.

And so, as you can see, this undertaking was a bit of a quest for me.  And it was accomplished by going more slowly and working more deliberately....dividing the work sessions into smaller bits.

I am happy to say that in this case, the result matches my vision.  I am happy....and I love her.

Spring Snow

Spring Snow   oil/canvas   14 x 11

The quality of the sun is quite different come February.  The sun is higher in the sky, moods become lighter and the color palette of our surroundings changes and subtly shifts from blues and violets to yellows and greens.  

These late-in-the-winter snowfalls are still so captivating but the snow often doesn't last the day and everything just looks meltier....is that a word?

This winter landscape records those subtle changes, I think.

I am pleased.

Coneflower Past - and past their prime

Coneflower Past   watercolor   9 x 6

Who decides at what stage flowers are beautiful?  Cars?  Furniture?  Clothing?....and people?  At some point, we must stretch our minds to widen this narrow, culturally-influenced circle of beauty.  

Coneflowers in their prime are the perfect subject for floral painting....vibrant color and stiff strong stalks.  In my own garden, coneflowers are dead-headed regularly into October.  And the pruner must decide which heads still retain beauty.  Past-the-prime flower heads offer their own sense of beauty when the leaves curl and provide interesting counter-spaces between the leaves, giving us a sense of rhythm.  The seeds are not full, demonstrating the picking-off by weather and insects.  These, too, are beautiful to me.  Color is faded the leaves start to into themselves.  All are beautiful.

This small painting is pleasing to me and allows me to meditate on the importance of all things past their prime.